Article of footwear

ABSTRACT

An article of footwear has a sole with a plurality of spaced apart pillars extending upwardly from a base surface defining passageways therebetween. The sole may include a vent allowing air to circulate through the passageways. An insole may rest on the plurality of pillars and may have a plurality of perforations therethrough that intersect the passageways.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of footwear and, moreparticularly, to an article of footwear having a sole constructed forimproved comfort and ventilation.

2. Background

Most shoes and other closed articles of footwear suffer from poorventilation. When the foot is enclosed in a poorly ventilated shoe,natural perspiration is trapped, which promotes the growth of bacteria,fungi and the like. This commonly results in discomfort, unpleasantodors and skin conditions.

Many different designs of ventilated footwear have been proposed. Theseinclude various arrangements of air passageways, some including pumps toprovide forced ventilation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an article of footwear having a sole witha plurality of pillars extending upwardly from its base surface definingpassageways therebetween. The sole may include a vent, which may bedisposed in the shank portion of the sole or elsewhere. An insole mayrest on the plurality of pillars and may have a plurality ofperforations therethrough that intersect the intersole passageways. Airis thereby free to circulate between the upper surface of the insole andthe vent through the intersole passageways. The plurality of pillarssupport the weight of the wearer and provide superior comfort incomparison to a conventional sole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially cut away and exploded view of an article offootwear in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the insole shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the bottom of the article offootwear in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and notlimitation, specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will beapparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may bepracticed in other embodiments that depart from these specific details.In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known methods anddevices are omitted so as to not obscure the description of the presentinvention with unnecessary detail.

FIG. 1 illustrates an article of footwear 10 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. The article of footwear comprises asole 12 and an upper 14, the majority of which is cut away in this view.The article of footwear further comprises an insole 16, which may bepermanently secured to the sole or may be made removable therefrom. Thearticle of footwear may be constructed of natural leather, fabric orother natural materials, such as plantation crepe or vulcanized rubber,or may be constructed of synthetic materials, such as synthetic leatheror molded plastic.

A particular type of footwear to which the present invention may beapplied is a closed low-back shoe, sometimes referred to as a clog. Suchshoes are frequently worn by nurses and other healthcare workers. Theseshoes are commonly made with the sole and upper as a single piecemolding of resilient plastic. While such a shoe is one example of anarticle of footwear embodying the present invention, the invention isnot limited in this regard.

A vent 18 is fitted in the shank portion of sole 12, but could belocated elsewhere if desired. The vent provides an air passagewaycompletely through the sole in the arch of the article of footwear. Vent18 preferably incorporates a screen or mesh to prevent debris fromentering while still admitting air. The upper or base surface of sole 12is covered with a plurality of upwardly extending pillars 20, whichdefine a maze of interconnecting passageways 22. These passageways allowair admitted by vent 18 to circulate throughout the area of the sole.

Insole 16 includes a plurality of perforations 24 that intersect thepassageways 22. These complete the air circulation path from the vent 18into the footwell of the article of footwear. The upper surface of theinsole may have a layer of fabric applied thereto for the comfort of thewearer.

With reference to FIG. 2, the lower surface of insole 16 may be providedwith a plurality of channels 26. These channels help improve thecirculation of air around pillars 20.

Pillars 20 function not only to permit circulation of air between thesole and insole; the pillars also serve to support the weight of thewearer and concentrate pressure onto corresponding locations on thewearer's foot. This provides a gentle massaging action as the wearerwalks. In this regard, the pillars may be located to concentratepressure at specific pressure points on the wearer's foot so as toachieve a therapeutic effect. The pillar configuration with spacestherebetween and the natural resilience of the pillars increases thecomfort of the wearer in comparison to conventional sole construction.

It will be recognized that the above-described invention may be embodiedin other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essentialcharacteristics of the disclosure. Thus, it is understood that theinvention is not to be limited by the foregoing illustrative details,but rather is to be defined by the appended claims.

1. An article of footwear comprising: a sole having a heel portion, atoe portion and a shank portion; a vent; a plurality of pillarsextending upwardly from a base surface of the sole defining aircirculation passageways therebetween; an insole having an upper surfaceand a lower surface, the lower surface resting on the plurality ofpillars, the insole further having a plurality of perforationstherethrough intersecting the air circulation passageways; whereby airis free to circulate between the upper surface of the insole and thevent through the air circulation passageways.
 2. The article of footwearof claim 1 wherein the insole is removable.
 3. The article of footwearof claim 1 wherein the upper surface of the insole is covered with afabric.
 4. The article of footwear of claim 1 further comprising anupper attached to the sole.
 5. The article of footwear of claim 4wherein the upper and sole comprise a single molding.
 6. The article offootwear of claim 1 wherein the lower surface of the insole has aplurality of channels formed therein.
 7. The article of footwear ofclaim 1 wherein the vent is disposed in the shank portion of the sole.8. An article of footwear comprising: a sole; an upper attached to thesole; a plurality of spaced apart pillars extending upwardly from a basesurface of the sole.
 9. The article of footwear of claim 8 furthercomprising an insole having an upper surface and a lower surface, thelower surface resting on the plurality of pillars.
 10. The article offootwear of claim 8 wherein the pillars are configured to correspond topressure points on a wearer's foot.